Members Statements in the
Ontario Legislature
ODA Legislation

December 2, 1999
International Day of Disabled Persons

ONTARIANS WITH DISABILITIES LEGISLATION

Hon Helen Johns
(Minister of Citizenship, Culture and Recreation, minister responsible
for seniors and women): I believe I have unanimous consent for a representative
for each party to speak five minutes on the International Day of Disabled
Persons.

The Speaker
(Hon Gary Carr): Is there unanimous agreement? Agreed.

Hon Mrs Johns:
Tomorrow, December 3, is the United Nations International Day of Disabled
Persons. This important event provides us with an opportunity to reflect
upon issues that affect all of us. It provides us with an opportunity
to reflect upon the progress that has been made in communities across
the province and to reflect upon our shared goals of a barrier-free
Ontario.

I believe that
all members of the House share my goals for an Ontario where opportunities
are available to all members of society. We share a goal of an Ontario
where all of us have the opportunity to be productive members of our
community, to share in the benefits of a growing economy and to participate
in the social and cultural life of our province.

Tomorrow we
will mark the achievements of Ontarians with disabilities and the achievements
of persons with disabilities in every part of the globe. Their achievements
are many. Through personal endeavour, men, women and young people with
disabilities have overcome tremendous barriers and remind us what the
world potentially really means. They have championed change and made
advances that have benefited all of us and they have inspired us through
acts of generosity, public spirit and athletic achievement.

As a government
and as members of this House, we have a responsibility to build on their
achievements. We are moving forward, and there is a great deal more
that needs to be done. This government has announced more than $500
million in initiatives that promote accessibility and create new opportunities.
We have enhanced community living and independent living opportunities
for people of all ages. We have made enhancements to education that
are assisting students with disabilities from preschool right through
a transition to post-secondary education. We've also created a new income
support and employment program that better meets the needs of people
with disabilities. We introduced a range of health initiatives designed
to improve care, provide earlier interventions and improve outcomes
following serious injuries.

New initiatives
are improving accessibility by supporting building and motor vehicle
modifications. We are fostering new partnerships and strategic alliances
between business and the not-for-profit and broader public sectors.
And we have introduced tax measures to assist people with disabilities
and offset costs to employers of accommodating employees with disabilities.

I'm very proud
that this government was the first in Canada and the only government
in the history of Ontario to commit to disability legislation. Just
last week in the House we once again renewed that commitment. We look
forward to working together with all members of the Legislature and
with all of those who share our responsibility for making Ontario more
accessible and creating opportunities for all members of our society.

I am sure that
all members of the House will join me in celebrating United Nations
International Day of Disabled Persons.

Mr Steve Peters
(Elgin-Middlesex-London): Tomorrow the United Nations recognizes the
International Day of Disabled Persons. It is a day that is intended
to further the integration of persons with disabilities into society.

I'm very proud
to add my voice to those praising the accomplishments of persons with
disabilities; 1999 has been a banner year for many persons with disabilities.
This includes the successful athletes at the Ontario Special Olympics
and Paraplegic Games and persons with disabilities who have achieved
the greatest heights in law, medicine, academics and administration.
It also includes the person with a mental handicap who succeeds in getting
their first job. It includes the elderly man with fading vision who
learns Braille to keep alive his love of reading. It includes every
Ontarian with a disability who has looked at a barrier and overcome
it.

There is a long
way to go, though, Madam Minister, to achieve the goal of a barrier-free
Ontario. There is much more that can be done, and the members of this
Legislature can help achieve that goal.

Two years from
now, when this Legislature again marks this important occasion, we will
have hopefully enacted a strong and effective Ontarians with Disabilities
Act. Such legislation will go much further towards the goal of integrating
persons with disabilities into society. The model legislation from the
United States has been universally praised for opening doors for Americans
with disabilities, both figuratively and literally. Now it is our turn.

In addition,
we must encourage new supportive housing initiatives that are accessible,
affordable and plentiful. We must enhance the funding to the special
services at home program for those families who are caring for their
children with disabilities.

Tomorrow, I
would ask my fellow members of the Legislature to consider what each
of us can do to address the barriers faced by persons with disabilities
in our ridings. If a constituent in a wheelchair came to visit your
office, would they be able to enter the door? If one of us was to hire
a person with a disability on our staff, as my seatmate has done, would
the Legislature offer the necessary services to integrate that person
into Queen's Park? If a person with limited sight wanted to receive
one of our householders, would they be able to get one in Braille or
large print?

Much more, too,
needs to be done to improve the accessibility to this building. Over
$300,000 was spent this past summer on this very Legislature, but it
was cosmetic in nature. It did nothing to improve access for persons
with disabilities to become part of and to watch the decision-making
process of this province.

It is a constant
learning process to identify and remove the steep obstacles to employment,
education, transportation and housing that persons with disabilities
face, but it is well worth it to integrate a million and a half of our
friends, constituents and, yes, voters.

In conclusion,
I would like to recognize the accomplishments of countless organizations
helping those with disabilities. If I were to start naming all those
wonderful groups and people by name, we would be here until next year's
International Day of Disabled Persons. However, they should each receive
our support and best wishes, from the front-line service providers to
those committed lobbyists and advocates who struggle on behalf of persons
with disabilities.

Members of the
Legislature, let us mark this day and use it as a day to turn the page
on the past injustice we have done to persons with disabilities. Let's
turn that page. Let's look towards the future, to doing everything we
can to remove those barriers to persons with disabilities.

1400

Ms Marilyn Churley
(Broadview-Greenwood): Tomorrow is the International Day of Disabled
Persons. I'm pleased to speak to this very important day on behalf of
the NDP caucus.

First, I want
to acknowledge the tremendous work done by people with disabilities
in this province, and right now especially by the Ontarians with Disabilities
Act committee, in bringing their concerns to the front of the public
consciousness. Their drive, determination and hard work is an example
to us all.

On this very
important day, I want to share with the members of this Legislature
what real people with disabilities face in Ontario right now. I want
to give some insight into why we need a strong and effective Ontarians
with Disabilities Act on the books and enforced right now. You see,
real people with disabilities live in a province full of barriers.

Offices for
government services have rooms and hallways that do not have enough
room for a person using a wheelchair or a scooter.

Limited availability
of Braille and other alternate formats for print information creates
barriers for people who are blind or have visual impairments or other
print disabilities.

People often
encounter doors too heavy to handle.

Traffic lights
do not allow sufficient time for people who walk slowly or who use crutches
or wheelchairs to cross the street.

Landlords are
often not aware of how to interact appropriately with visually impaired
tenants or others with print disabilities.

Many of our
school playgrounds and other school buildings are inaccessible to children
with disabilities.

Many people
with disabilities are not eligible for use of paratransit systems.

The list does
go on and on. Has this government made it easier or harder for persons
with disabilities to cope with this province so full of barriers? If
you are a single mom with a child with a disability and you are on welfare,
you have lost over 20% of your income thanks to this government. Did
your disabled child lose 20% of his or her need for three meals a day?
I don't think so. You have fewer hospitals to go to for medical treatment.
You have fewer Human Rights Commission offices to go to if you want
to complain about the barriers you face.

The Ontario
disability support program is in a state of chaos. You don't have any
legislation that protects your rights and provides you with equal opportunity
because this government got rid of the NDP's Employment Equity Act,
replaced it with nothing, told people to go to the Human Rights Commission
and now they've cut that once again. You don't have the transportation
accessibility programs the NDP government put in place. They're gone
as well.

You have a new
minister responsible for people with disabilities every couple of years
to make promises and then deliver nothing. To top it off, you have a
government that supports a resolution to move forward, once again, with
a new Ontarians with Disabilities Act and then the next day starts to
make excuses about time frames. This from a government that can turn
around record numbers of pieces of legislation overnight, as we see
daily in this House. The fact is, this government has continued to treat
persons with disabilities like second-class citizens.

Tomorrow is
a very important day. We have an opportunity today to ask the government
once again to move forward on this important legislation. I hope they
will, for once, do more than pay lip service to the 1.5 million Ontarians
with disabilities and give their issues the priority they deserve.

Polls show that
the citizens of Ontario support moving forward with a new Ontarians
with Disabilities Act, and I'm disappointed that on this important day
the minister didn't take the opportunity to stand and give us some information
and news about where they are in the process of moving forward on this
important act. I had hoped she would do that today.